Perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms: a study of Vietnamese women who migrated to South Korea due to marriage.

International migrants are one group that is vulnerable to discrimination and mental health problems. This study examined the experience of perceived discrimination and its impact on depressive symptoms among women who migrated in the specific context of marriage. Using social constructionism and the stress appraisal model, this study conceptualized perceived discrimination as a potential source of stress and hypothesized that it would negatively impact the mental health of migrant women. A survey sample of 212 Vietnamese marriage migrant women in South Korea was used for the final analysis. Perceived discrimination was measured using the adapted Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS). Overall, approximately 62% of the sample reported having at least one discriminatory encounter based on the nine items of the EDS. The results of the multivariate analyses indicated that perceived discrimination posed a significant risk to mental health (ß = 0.43, p < .001). The experience of perceived discrimination increased the amount of explained variance of depressive symptoms by 17%. Findings highlighted the adverse mental health consequences of daily unfair treatment and disrespect in interpersonal contexts and the importance of social policies and programs that promote respect for cultural diversity.

Acculturation, Acculturative Stress, and Depressive Symptoms in International Migrants: A Study with Vietnamese Women in South Korea.

Globally, there have been increasing numbers of migrant women; these women are at an increased risk for depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations among acculturation, acculturative stress and depressive symptoms in Vietnamese women who migrated to South Korea through marriages. We hypothesized that acculturative stress would serve as a mediator in the relationship between acculturation and depressive symptoms. Our findings from surveys with 217 Vietnamese immigrant women showed that the indirect effect of acculturation on depressive symptoms, mediated through acculturative stress [- .15 (.04)], was significant (bias corrected 95% confidence interval for the indirect effect = - .25, - .08). Low levels of acculturation increased acculturative stress, which in turn led to the elevated symptoms of depression. Our findings not only illuminate the adaptation processes of international, female migrants but also suggest avenues to protect and promote their mental well-being.

Validation of the K6/K10 Scales of Psychological Distress and Their Optimal Cutoff Scores for Older Koreans.

This study aims to assess the psychometric properties of the Korean versions of the Kessler 6 and 10 (K-K6/K10) to validate the two scales in relation to the Korean versions of the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (K-GDS-SF) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (K-CES-D) and to propose optimal cutoff scores appropriate for the elderly Korean population (n=331). Psychometric performance was assessed with sensitivity, specificity, receiver operating characteristic curves, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Cutoff scores were estimated from the Youden index, the closest-to-(0,1), and the balanced score. This study found that the K-K6 and K-K10 appeared to be robust screening tools, with the K-CES-D and K-GDS-SF as reference measures. The cutoff scores for the Korean senior population are proposed to be 12/13 for the K-K6 and 20/21 for the K-K10. This study indicates that the K6 and K10 can be valid and reliable screening tools of psychological distress for Korean seniors and may also be used among the Korean American elderly in the United States for both clinical and research purposes.

HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, related behaviors, and sources of information among Korean adolescents.

To examine HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, related behaviors, and sources of HIV/AIDS information among high school-aged students in South Korea. One thousand and seventy-seven students (586 females and 491 males) from 5 high schools from 5 representative school districts participated in the survey. A self-administered questionnaire measuring knowledge (19 true-false items), attitudes (4 items, 5-point Likert-type scale), sources of information (6 items, yes/no), and sexual behaviors (8 items, yes/no) was utilized. The level of HIV/AIDS knowledge among Korean adolescents was moderate, with the mean scores of 13.93 out of 19 for males and 13.35 for females (p < .01). Attitudes toward persons with HIV/AIDS were negative, with the mean scores of 3.06 for males and 3.09 for females. Of 42 respondents (4.4%) who had engaged in sexual intercourse, 18 (40%) had used condoms. Almost half of the total respondents reported they were not concerned about HIV/AIDS (46.0%), and 94.4% indicated the need for receiving HIV prevention education in the future. The respondents identified TV (52.5%) and school classes (32.1%) as the two major sources of information on HIV/AIDS. Only a few pointed to their parents (1.3%) as a source of information. This preliminary study summarizes the current status of prevention education on HIV/AIDS available in Korea and can provide implications for developing more differentiated intervention strategies specific to culture, age, and gender.

[A case of hepatocellular carcinoma with metastasis to gingival mucosa].

Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common causes of death in Koreans. Most cases of hepatocellular carcinoma are beyond the stage of curative resection at the time of diagnosis due to extrahepatic metastasis as well as wide distribution of tumor in the liver. The lung is the most common site of extrahepatic metastasis but metastasis to gingiva is very rare in hepatocellular carcinoma. We report a case hepatocellular carcinoma with gingival metastasis in a 59 year old male patient.

Lúpus eritomatoso sistêmico e síndrome de Lyell: necrólise epidérmica tóxica / Systemic lupus erythematosus and Lyell Syndrome: toxic epidermal necrosis

Os autores relatam a ocorrência da Síndrome de Lyell (SL) ou Necrólise Epidérmica Tóxica (NET) em 3 (três) pacientes portadores de Lúpus Eritomatoso Sistêmico (LES). Todos estavam em atividade da doença lúpica e apresentavam manifestaçöes sistêmicas graves. Os prováveis agentes desencadeantes foram: dipirona, trimetoprim-sulfametoxazol e cefalotina. A evoluçåo foi muito boa em um paciente, que recebeu alta sem sequelas; outra evoluiu com síndrome seca e perda da visåo; e uma terceira foi ao êxito letal, por hemorragia digestiva alta incontrolável. É feita revisåo da literatura e discutidos os mecanismos histopatológicos da NET e sua relaçåo com a Doença Enxerto Versus Hospedeiro (DEVH) e Síndrome Seca (SS). Sugere-se ainda que o LES poderia funcionar como co-fator para o desencadeamento da NET, que por sua vez seria um sinal de agressividade da doença lúpica

Artrite meningocócica: relato a propósito de um caso com evoluçäo atípica / Meningococcal arthritis: review about a case with atypical evolution

A infecçäo meningocócica pode se apresentar de diversas forma e em apenas 50 por cento dos casos há meningite. As manifestaçöes osteoarticulares säo comuns na meningococcemia e incluem, artralgia, mialgia, tenossinovite, artrite séptica, hemartrose ou hemorragia periarticular e artrite mediada por imunocomplexos (IC). Nós apresentamos um caso de meningococcemia com meningite que desenvolveu polartrite simétrica acompanhada de sintomatologia álgica intensa, ambos aspectos infreqüentes no curso da doença